Did Muhammad write the Quran? Did he

plagiarize the Bible? 

The charge against the Prophet Muhammad

that he concocted the Qur’an is a very prevalent

one, especially in the West. Even those who are

sympathetic to Islam among Western writers

cannot admit that the Qur’an is revelation and its

author is God himself. There is a long and deeprooted

tradition in Western literature that views the

Qur’an as the work of the Prophet. Thus, we will

look at this issue, though extremely briefly, in light

of well-documented historical facts, logic, as well

as with respect to the Prophet’s personality, life

and career.

The Prophet Muhammad is perhaps the most

fully documented person in antiquity and history.

This fact enables us to examine closely the claim

that he wrote the Qur’an himself. This is a topic of

volumes, as scholars have discussed in detail

hundreds of strong evidences that establish the

divine origin of the Qur’an. Considering the scope

of this booklet, we will mention just a few.

First, it was well-known among the early

Arabs of Mecca that the Prophet Muhammad did

not read or write, and was not formally educated.

The Qur’an itself states that the Prophet was

unlettered, specifically in the sense that he could

not read or write. No one in the Meccan

community attempted to deny this claim of the

Qur’an: “Believe, then, in God and His Messenger

– the unlettered Prophet who believes in God

and His words – and follow him, so that you might

find guidance!” (7:158)

As is recorded in his biography, when the

angel Gabriel approached the Prophet for the first

time at the age of 40, and revealed to him the first

verse of the Qur’an, “Read!”, the Prophet’s

response was that he was unable to read. Thus

even at the start of revelation, the Prophet was in

no position to compose a book. Indeed as the

Qur’an states, the Prophet’s being unlettered was

itself a matter of divine wisdom: “Never have you

recited Scripture before this (Qur’an oh Prophet)!

Nor have you transcribed one with your right

hand. For then, the progenitors of falsehood

would have had cause to doubt (the revelation).”

(29:48)

Second, in various instances in the life of the

Prophet Muhammad where a problem arose, he

was unable to find a solution until it was revealed

to him by God. In many of these instances, the

answer was delayed often causing the Prophet

great anxiety. If the Prophet had devised the

answers himself, why would he need to wait on

revelation? Here are a few examples:

• Once a group of people accused the Prophet’s
wife Aisha of adultery. The slanderous

accusations shook the community in Medina,

and resulted in the Prophet separating from

his wife temporarily. During this extremely

difficult ordeal he did not know what to do.

Finally, verses were revealed that established

the innocence of Aisha and rebuked those

who made the false accusations against her.

• The leaders of Quraysh once asked the
Prophet a few questions in order to test him

and to see if he really is the Messenger of

God. They asked about stories and issues,

such as the Seven Sleepers, Dhul Qarnain, the

nature of the spirit, etc. Weeks had passed

and the Prophet would not give any answers,

because he did not have knowledge of them at

that time. As a result of the delay, the Prophet

was accused of being a liar by the Quraysh.

Finally, the Prophet received by revelation a

whole chapter of the Qur’an, called the Cave

(Chapter 18), as well as other verses,

answering all the questions asked to the

Prophet by the Quraysh.

• In the early days of Islam, the Muslims used
to face Jerusalem while praying. The Prophet

wished and wanted to change the direction of

prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca. But he did

not instigate the change himself; instead, he

waited for a command from his Lord, raising

his head towards the heavens in anticipation.

The Qur’an states: “We have seen you (O

Prophet) often turn your face towards

heaven…” (Qur’an 2:144). Thereafter God’s

commands arrived, and Muslims immediately

turned their faces towards the direction of

Mecca, turning from North to South.

In all of these incidents and many others the

Prophet did not act until revelation came to him

with an explicit answer or command. This was the

case even though the delay caused him to be

rebuked and accused of being a false Prophet. If

the Qur’an were from the Prophet, surely he could

have “revealed” the verses earlier. This shows the

Quran is a revelation from God, and not from

Muhammad’s own imagination.

Third, the Arabs, both Muslims and non-

Muslim, have testified to the high calibre and literal

mastery of the Qur’an:

• Umar bin al Khattab used to be a judge of the
poetry festival in Mecca. His mastery of the

Arabic language was superb. Nonetheless,

when he heard a portion of the Qur’an, he

was spellbound, and because of it embraced

Islam. How could the Prophet produce such

a literal masterpiece at the age of 40 when he

had never shown such talent before?

• Similarly, there were many others like At-
Tufayl bin Amr al-Dawsi, Utbah bin Rabiha

and others who had such experiences when

they heard portions of the Qur’an. They

would repeat statements such as, “I have

heard words of such that I never heard

before. By God, it is not poetry, nor magic,

nor divination.” This was often their first

impression. This shows that the Qur’an was

something beyond the Prophet’s talent or

genius, as its origin was other than the

Prophet Muhammad.

Fourth, there is a marked difference between

the Prophet’s sayings and Qur’anic verses. The

Prophet’s sayings are recorded in volumes, called

hadith, which are more voluminous than the

Qur’an. When he spoke, his sayings were not

accompanied with any extraordinary experiences,

but when he received the revelation he would often

experience abnormal sensations. When verses were

revealed to him, sometimes he would sweat even

on cold days, his face would become red, his body

would become heavy, etc. Was he just acting?

Definitely not! How could he have lived such a

pretentious and complicated life for 23 years? This

is indeed the difference between the hadith and the

Qur’an. As for the Qur’an, he received it by

revelation from God verbatim, and as for the

hadith, they were his own words.

Another crucial point in this respect is the

huge difference between the linguistic style of the

Qur’an and that of hadith. A comparison of both

suggests unequivocally that the author of the

Qur’an is entirely different from that of the hadith.

It is also recorded authentically that the Arabs

themselves were surprised by the language of the

Qur’an because the Prophet was not known to

have composed any literal piece before its

revelation. Clearly, the language of the Qur’an was

not from Muhammad’s own tongue. Even non-

Arabic speaking people can see this vast difference

in style and language between the Qur’an and the

hadith, even by reading translations.

Fifth, a good portion of the Qur’an includes

stories of previous Prophets and their nations.

Always, the concluding remark is that the Prophet

had no previous knowledge of any of those stories

or historical events, and that he only knew of them

through revelation, for example:

• After relating the story of Moses and Pharaoh
the Qur’an states: “You were not (there, O

Prophet,) on the western mountainside (of

Tur) when We decreed to Moses the

Commandments. Nor were you (there among

those) of the Children of Israel who bore

witness (to these events). Furthermore, We

brought forth (many) generations (after

Moses), such that the life spans (of

heedlessness) that stretched over them grew

(so very) long – (until they forgot God’s

Covenant). Moreover, you were not (there

with Moses when he was) dwelling among the

people of Midian, conveying Our message

unto them…” (28:44-45)

• The Qur’an also states after the story of Jesus
and Mary: “This account of something that

was beyond the reach of your perception We

[now] reveal unto you: for you were not with

them when they drew lots as to which of them

should be Mary's guardian, and you were not

with them when they contended [about it]

with one another.” (3:44)

• It also states after the story of Joseph: “This is
(but one) of the tidings of the unseen (past)

that We reveal to you, (O Prophet). For you

were not with them when they resolved (to

execute) their (evil) affair, and while they were

plotting (it).” (12:102)

Verses like the above appear routinely after

the stories in the Qur’an. Thus, if the Prophet had

learned these stories from Jews and Christians, why

should he ascribe them to God? Is he such a

blatant liar?

Sixth, the Qur’an severely criticized the

Prophet on several issues:

• The Prophet was once sitting with some of
the leaders of Quraysh, inviting them to Islam.

A blind man, Abdullah bin Umm Makhtum,

who was already a Muslim, came to the

Prophet to ask him some questions regarding

Islam. The Prophet ignored him, as he was

busy delivering the message of Islam to the

leaders of Quraysh, hoping they would come

to Islam. Thereupon the revelation came

reproaching and reprimanding him: “He

frowned and turned away because the blind

man approached him. Yet for all you did

know (O Muhammad) he might perhaps have

grown in purity?” (80:1-3).

• The Prophet used to love to eat honey. Once
he refused to consume any honey after his

wives discouraged him to do so, as a result of

a quarrel they were having among themselves.

God again reproached and reprimanded him:

“O Prophet! Why do you, out of a desire to

please [one or another of] your wives impose

[on yourself] a prohibition of something that

God has made lawful to you?” (66:1).

• At the time of the battle of Tabuk, some
hypocrites came and asked the Prophet to

excuse them from participating in the

campaign. The merciful Prophet accepted

their excuse. Thereupon revelation came

down upon him again reproaching and

reprimanding him: “May God pardon you (O

Prophet)! Why did you grant them permission

(to stay at home) before it had become

obvious to you as to who was speaking truth

and (before) you came to know (who were)

the liars” (9:43).

There are many other incidents in which the

Prophet was reproached and reprimanded by God.

The logical question here is why would the Prophet

make up these verses? Even if someone had

revealed these verses to him, why would he retain

them while having a firm belief that these verses

will be recited and read throughout the ages? The

logical and factual answer is that these are not the

words of the Prophet, and he is not the author of

the Qur’an.

Seventh, one of the major themes of the

Qur’an is that the source of the Qur’an is God

Himself. The Prophet did not have any right to

add or subtract from what had been revealed:

If he (Muhammad) had dared to attribute

some of (his own) sayings unto Us, we would

indeed have seized him by his right hand and

would indeed have cut his life-vein.” (69:44-

46)

If the Prophet was really the author of the

Qur’an, why did he have to state these words?

Was he a sheer liar to the extent that he both

concocted the Qur’an and devised threats against

himself? History and logic would refute this

claim, especially since the Prophet was known

never to have uttered a lie in his whole life. Before

Prophethood, even the pagan idolaters attested to

his truthfulness, and he was known as the

“Trustworthy” and“Truthful” .Are we to believe

that suddenly, at the age of 40, the Prophet not

only began to utter a long string of lies but that

these lies were against God Himself? Simply

illogical!

Mohammed was, like most people in Arabia at that time, unable to read or write. He had no access to the means of acquiring such knowledge. Indeed, it was a constant challenge to his opponents then, as it has been throughout the history of those who refuse to accept the possibility that the Quran is from the Creator, as to where exactly he got all this information. 

Some Christian polemi­cists even went as far as to claim that Mohammed himself was in fact a heretical Christian bishop that had fled to Arabia, others claiming that he learned from some dissident monk! However, despite the rich history and available literature of Mohammed’s life, no one can seem to be able to identify this character and how he managed to stay hidden for the duration of the twenty-three years the Prophet preached. Of course, another issue that this raises is the suggestion that the Quran was an invention, and that Mohammed was a liar, and such a claim is really very problematic, since any study of the life of Mohammed clearly shows his com­plete sincerity and truthfulness. He does not display the psycho­logical profile of a con artist at all. This has led others to claim that he was deluded and mad, that he really believed that he was a Prophet, and managed therefore to convince himself and others.

This leaves us still with the unexplained mystery of the amazing information and breadth of knowledge contained in the Quran.

You see, someone can’t be both deluded and a liar at the same time.

If you think you are a Prophet and really believe you are receiving information from God, when someone comes to ask you a difficult question as often happened to Mohammed, you don’t go off run­ning to your nearest priest or Rabbi to find out what the answer is going to be. You’re convinced God is going to tell you.

conclusion
The most reasonable conclusion that explains the phenomenon of both the amazing level of information in the Quran and the clear sincerity and truthfulness of Mohammed is that he was what he claimed to be, the Messenger of God. It seems that this alone offers a plausible explanation for the information, because this knowledge is from the Creator, and acts as a sort of verification of it. The Prophet Mohammed’s sincerity, truthfulness and princi­pled behaviour is explained by him actually being what he claimed to be and having certainty that he was receiving a divine message.